Re: Thanks
MasterTT said:
Thank you so much for this post. It was very helpful.
You're very welcome. It was my pleasure. I enjoy discussing my project. It kind of helps me get through it. Like I'm getting stuff off my chest, you know.
MasterTT said:
The money isnt an issue as much, because a great deal of the investment (equipment and stuff) is that I will have to make anyway as a film student.
That's a good start. The film equipment was indeed a good part of the investment. But not the biggest part by far. At least in my case. I never expected so many expenses. My general expenses count for twice as much as all the video equipment (my camcorder is a Sony DCR-TRV900 that I bought three years ago, to give you an idea), and I'm not even counting the models' salaries. Apparently, I spent about $8,000 on models' salaries so far (I don't mind revealing that). Ok, so I have a lot of videos in reserve, but it's still very draining on the wallet if you want to offer the candidates a good enough incentive. Depending on the salaries you offer you models, it can take many sales just to cover the production expenses of a given video and start making a "profit" on that particular video.
I dont expect it to be my main source of income or anything, but it is my love in life so.
That's good. Doing it with profits in mind is a big mistake. Some do manage it, but it's a big gamble. It's much better to do is mostly for the fun of it, otherwise such a project may be a totally futile endeavor.
being a filmmaker in general (though I agree 110 percent is stageringly difficult) is a dream come true. Just thinking about combining two things I love for a project or two.
That makes perfect sense. I can see why you're interested in doing this.
Im not sure, I use tickling allready in some of my work, just because I think it has many levels, it can be funny or sensual whatever.
That's interesting. You may have noticed the photo project I mentioned in my previous posts. Well, while the project was mostly portraits and more original yet mainstream situations, we also managed to include feet and tickling in some shots, usually with genuinely good creative and/or symbolic reasons. The project was basically meant to produce stock material for a photo agency (Retna), and we found interesting ways to use tickling and even light bondage in ads, when the models were willing. These shots were also meant to illustrate philosophical and sociological concepts, which complemented my photographer friend's PhD thesis very well.
there are a couple of things I am really worried about, one is the obvious sexual asspect.
That can be a major issue, I agree. I personally don't feel I'm doing anything wrong. It's all in good fun. But I can't completely overlook the fact that the main purpose of the videos is sexual in nature. But the thing is that I'm not into porn and the usual sex stuff, and I don't like people thinking that. I mean, I'm not very keen on being associated with it by some people, even if I know it's not quite true. Even people who like the project may think I'm somewhat into the adult industry. They're not entirely wrong, and I admit that it sometimes makes me somewhat uncomfortable. It's a matter of reputation and what other people think of you. Now, I don't see it as something that can damage one's reputation in an significant way, but still, there are always some people who see evil and indecency in very banal stuff. I really don't like that at all. I don't want anyone to feel like what I'm doing is in some way perverted. So it does weigh on me sometimes. I'm usually ok with it, but once in a while I take a blow to my self-esteem because of it. T
he problems involved in running such a business are definitely not limited to technical issues. There are also many psychological issues. Of course, some people just don't care, being perfectly comfortable in their erotic world when dealing with models and other people. so it's no problem at all for them. But I do care. Very much. Models aren't just tools for making videos. They're people I care about, people I respect. But it's not always easy to combine respect and professionalism when dealing in fetish material, or at least to convince the models and other people that you can.
I have approched several people about doing a humorous but basicaly mainstream tickling related video and they are fine with it
Oh, well of course. I'd have a much easier time finding willing models if it weren't for the fetish context. Many people who call me find the tickling concept itself to be a lot of fun. And I can imagine making such a video could be a lot of fun too. However...
(some scheduling difficulties but thats about it)
Oh yeah, that's perfectly normal.
but in contrast I dont know how they would take it if they veiwed it as a sexual thing.
...Yep, the sexual context changes everything. It doesn't matter how fun and playful and humorous it is, it doesn't change the adult context of the market. It would be great to be able to make a tickling video like you suggest and sell it without the fetish thing. Models would be relatively easy to come by and I'd have a lot more fun during shoots. The problem is that I'm not aware of such a market. Pretty much the only way to sell tickling-based videos is to offer them to the fetish crowd. And that's something one must be reasonably comfortable with, otherwise the project becomes a moral burden.
It goes without saying that if a video is shot with the intention of selling it as a fetish video, the models must be told about it right from the start. One must be totally clear about it and provide as much info as possible, including some context about the fetish world. They need to know exactly what they're getting into. Otherwise it wouldn't be honest and it might eventually cause trouble. Naturally, being this honest means losing a high percentage of otherwise interested models, but it's really the only way.
A general point that I want to make is that it's one thing to want to combine two fun things into one really cool activity, but it's a whole different thing to eventually come to dislike one or the other because of the consequences of their combination. I do enjoy tickling, but because of all the problems that my project has presented me, I'm afraid I don't see tickling in quite the same way anymore. Like I kind of associated the bad sides of the project with the concept of tickling.
Dealing with techinical issues and constantly worrying what the models are thinking during a shoot is mentally exhausting and prevents me from actually enjoying the experience as much as I should. To me it's more like stressful work. Oh, I can be pleased with the results, and there's satisfaction in that, but I don't really enjoy the actual experience in the way most people from the community would expect me to. It's not the same thing as the fantasy. Shooting a tickling video, especially with models that are basically strangers, is nothing like having some casual fun with friends. You can't act the same way. It can be a touchy situation sometimes. And there can be frictions.
Thanks for help any one who has any more advice feel free. It has been alot of help.
My pleasure. If you have any other questions of comments, you're more than welcome to post again, or write me directly.